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God of War



PROS
CONS


Weighty Heavy combat
Combo variety got old


Viciously awesome finishers
I want more finishers!


Boss fights were crazy epic
I felt as though there were too few of them. But that’s probably what made them epic


A technological marvel
Not on PC.


The in-between times were heartfelt and a good way to share lore
Certain enemy types got annoying to deal with




Bugs and Issues
Specs




CONSTANT FRAME HITCHES! I promise there’s nothing wrong with my setup, but every time I opened a chest or got out of combat frames would come to a standstill and be fine 3 seconds later. This would have been a major deduction if this game wasn’t so good. Play it on consoles. Playing for the frames isn’t worth it. Play it on console where you can get constant 30FPS @ 4k, you’ll be fine.




AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
ASUS TUF RTX 4070Ti
32 GB 3600MHz RAM
2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD
1440p Settings






Content and Replay Value
Let’s get this out up front. God of War (2018) is a great game and even more so of a significant change from the action-adventure game it was in the past. This version of GoW leans into intentional slow weighty combat but keeps all its visceral roots. It sprinkles in RPG mechanics but keeps the amazingly gripping story content. The side missions are delivered as lessons being taught to Atreus. Down time rowing the boat is filled with lore provided by Norse mythology’s wisest God. All the content in this game hits. Proper pacing throughout the game makes sure that the ridiculous highs don’t come to a dead stop but back to a subtle walk to drip feed you the world Kratos now lives in.


Should you get it?
The simple answer is yes. But probably not on PC. As stated in bugs and issues my problems were so pronounced that I wished I had just played on console.


Overall Verdict
8.75/10. The truly damning thing was how it ran on PC. After a bunch of adjustments, I just couldn’t get the game to run smoothly. There were a handful of obnoxious enemy types like the high level reavers and lizard dogs. But man, this game shines brightly in narrative and gameplay execution. The game is fun to play, and I felt as though I blasted through it in ~60hrs. I probably could’ve got 100% the game too if I felt like finding the extra treasure maps. That aside, doing the optional zones to grind out awesome looking gear and fighting some tough optional bosses felt mandatory in a game crafted this well


Introspective (Something Different):
I want to approach this write up a little differently. You can catch all my technical thoughts about the game above, but I want to take a bit of an introspective look into this game. The fact that I'm doing this is a testament of how good the game is. But I want to look at the themes and how they apply to me and maybe you (the reader) as well. I'm sure that what I will say is nothing new. The game has been out for six years after all.
Immediately we are put into the game with a husband who lost a wife and a son who lost a mother. The difference in demeanor gives you an idea of how these two characters' lives have been to this point. Kratos is what we see in a lot of today's culture among men, young boys, and me. A traditional personality upbringing, "You're a man, you will not cry". Something we have all either heard or personally dealt with. Then you have Atreus. A more sensitive child, vying for the approval of a father he feels is so distant. Losing the parent he felt as though he had more of a connection to he now feels lost.
Atreus is the child that we've all been and as adults all find somewhat annoying. We can sympathize with doing activities to please a parent. We've all been through a phase of angst. Betrayed with the thought that our youth means we were once invincible. Dealing with the consequences of that ignorance. Lastly, being humbled to the point where we learn how to shake and move with learned wisdom. This is the character arc we see in an accelerated time for Atreus but is relevant in the life I have lived and maybe yourself as well.
This is made more difficult for Kratos because we see throughout the journey that he struggles with his past exploits. This rendition of God of War does not wipe clean the slate of Kratos. It is in fact a plot point that hangs throughout the story and me personally. Understanding as an adult what and how to share with your children when the time calls for it. When leading a family how do you deal or grow through your past exploits. Knowing that in our lives we are far from perfect people, how did you make it through, and possibly keep history from repeating itself. This is a taste of the thoughts a parent goes through. That I know I will go through when raising a child. It’s visible to Kratos when traveling with his son. These actions, decisions, and choices hover because it makes you think to yourself, what is the proper amount of information a child needs to stimulate their growth. Or is it truly detrimental to keep information from them and call it protection?
All through this process we have Kratos. The hardened warrior, molded by traditional spartan upbringing, raising a child. His child. Not a warrior. He is thrusted into a role unfamiliar to him and must make the conscious decision to be a father and not just a caretaker. Understanding that when disciplining and teaching our children that a subtle hand is sometimes more effective than the deft hand, we're familiar with.
The bonding that takes place during the adventure leads to not only self-discovery but also discovery of what makes Atreus tick. Fatherhood is a journey. One of fear, self-doubt, and even stupid decisions. It is important though that you continue to make that journey. The journey of Kratos and Atreus saw multiple times where they could have packed up and gone home but teaching a child to see things through builds character and resilience in the face of adversity. Character shapes you into the person you will one day be. For Kratos, and for parents, it is imperative to know how to build that in all our children; so that they become the success that not only we want them to be but the success that they want to see as well. God of War tackles parenthood with an amazing sense of detail in a video game that sometimes you forget that you're ripping and tearing threats limb from limb.